Southern fox squirrel
| Southern fox squirrel | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sciuridae |
| Genus: | Sciurus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | S. n. niger |
| Trinomial name | |
| Sciurus niger niger Linnaeus, 1758 | |
The Southern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger niger) is a subspecies of the fox squirrel. They are native to the eastern United States and currently reside in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. They can also be found in parts of southern Virginia, southeastern Alabama, and the panhandle of Florida. Their life expectancy in the wild is between 6 - 7 years, but individuals have been known to live up to 20 in captivity. Southern fox squirrels are a diurnal species.
Sherman's fox squirrel (Sciurus niger shermani) is very similar to the southern fox squirrel to the point that there is still debate in the scientific community as to whether they are the same species.